


Smoke Burns

by ThatOneGreyGhost



Category: MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Also Black Lives Matter, FUCK endgame, Fluff, Fluffy Pepperony, Fluffy Stucky, Literally everthing after CA:TWS can just die, M/M, Socially conscious avengers, Steve Rogers actually acting like Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers is a Feminist, Steve Rogers is a rebel, not civil war compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28566003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneGreyGhost/pseuds/ThatOneGreyGhost
Summary: Steve Rogers was always getting into trouble. What most of the Avengers didn't know was what kind of trouble.
Relationships: Stucky, pepperony
Comments: 7
Kudos: 111





	Smoke Burns

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw this headcanon that Steve would absolutely go to protests and get fucked by using himself as a shield for other people. And I was like, "I love it. I want a fic" and then there were no fics! So I'm fixing that, cuz... Steve Rogers.

The first time it happens, Steve didn't tell anyone. Everyone thought he was out for a run or something, but given that its nearly 5 in the evening, the team is starting to get a little worried.

"He's fine, he can handle himself." Tony waves his hand distractedly, focused on the game of Super Smash Bros that he's playing with Clint.

"He's also a trouble magnet, if you remember." Natasha squints at Tony, who's still not paying attention to her. "Besides, I'm not worried about him".

"Yeah, yeah. As long as he doesn't kill anyone, we're fine." Tony frowns as Clint snatches the control out of his hands. "Hey!"

"You are too good at this game." Clint mutters as he tosses the control back. 

Tony is about to snap back with a witty comment, but it dies in his throat when he catches sight of Steve in the doorway. The blond is messed up; there's bruises all over his hands and arms, his lip is busted and his right eye is swollen shut. His nose is crusted up with blood, and there's a burn mark on the side of his neck, tracing down under his shirt towards his heart. He looks pissed, too, but Tony hardly notices. Clint sits up, confusion and panic crossing his face.

"Jesus! What happened to you?" Tony stammers, shocked. Who did he fight that messed him up that bad?

Steve doesn't say anything, he just grunts and wipes his nose with the back of his hand, shuffling over to the fridge in the kitchen and grabbing a bag of peas out of the freezer, slapping them over his eye. He sits at the island and glares at the countertop, grunting when Nat places a glass of water in front of him. Bruce comes in, looking up from his book just long enough to say hi, then sits down next to Steve and gestures at him.

"Arm." Bruce says, not looking up from his book. Steve grunts again, then after moving the bag of peas around some, sticks his arm out. Bruce puts down his book.

"You didn't answer my question." Tony plops himself down opposite Steve, which earns him a withering glare. "Aw, don't give me that look. I just wanna know who beat the shit outta you".

"Stark." Nat hisses as Pepper storms in, pissed. Steve glances at her out of the corner of his eye, still not speaking.

"What the fuck!" Pepper slams a packet of papers onto the counter, glaring daggers at Steve. Tony looks shocked; Steve is the good one, he never gets in trouble with Pepper.

"I didn't hit anyone." Steve replies, and his voice is rough and cracking, like he hasn't had any water. It's the first time he's spoken since he got back, and Bruce watches the way he swallows hard, like it hurts for him to speak.

"That's not the point! What the actual fuck, Rogers?"

Every single person in the room freezes when Pepper says that. She never uses his last name. Everyone knows that Steve is Pepper's favorite; even Tony will joke about Steve being the only one who doesn't cause trouble for Pepper. But Pepper is pissed, and she's pissed with Steve, and the team doesn't quite know how to react.

"They were going to shoot them." Steve clears his throat, glaring at Pepper. "I had to do something".

"So you decided to attack a police officer?"

"You WHAT?" Clint barks as Bruce looks up in shock, Nat smiles and nods discreetly, and Tony says "Oh, you were fucking up cops! Nice".

"They were gonna shoot them." Steve repeats as Bruce presses his arm and he flinches away. "They weren't doing anything wrong. Nice, quiet, respectful young adults. They were gonna shoot them, and they didn't do anything wrong".

"Hold still." Bruce says as he sets Steve's arm. "What were they protesting?"

"Some girl somewhere killed herself because she was born with boy bits, and her parents called her by the wrong name and kicked her out. They were just sitting in the park, real quiet, not causing any trouble. And the police showed up and said they couldn't be there, and started waving guns around, so I walked up and said, "Officer, they aren't bothering anyone. Put that down before someone gets hurt". And he was all, "Captain America is here, you idiots are in for it now!", so I snapped his nightstick in half".

Tony bursts out laughing, which is quickly followed by Clint slow clapping as Nat gives Steve a quick cheek kiss and Bruce hums happily. Pepper glares at all of them, exasperated.

"You assaulted a police officer!" Pepper shouts as Steve drinks some of his water. "You attacked a- That's a federal offense!"

"I never hit him".

"You removed a forcibly weapon from his person and broke it. That's assault".

"Actually, he hit me across the face with it and then I took it and broke it".

The room goes silent again. Bruce goes a little green before forcing it down, but everyone is thinking the same thing; they just declared war on Captain America. And by proxy, all of the Avengers. Pepper looks taken aback, then glances down at the packet of papers she slammed down earlier.

"They... neglected to mention that detail." She says, and when she looks up, her anger has taken a new direction.

"They probably didn't tell you about how they shot me in the face with this big ass bullet, either." Steve puts the peas down, and Pepper's eyes go wide. "Yeah, didn't think so".

"They... I will contact the chief of police. I need to tell him that an apology is not in order".

"You do that." Steve replaces the peas, turning to Bruce. "Is it broken?"

"I think so." Bruce replies. "I'm more worried about that rubber bullet to the face. Those can fracture your skull".

"They can?" Tony gasps. "I thought the whole deal was so they didn't hurt anyone!"

"They're supposed to be fired at the ground so they ricochet." Clint says, sliding a beer in front of Steve. "But the police have a habit of not doing their jobs right, so I'm not surprised".

Steve takes the beer, nodding at Clint as Bruce checks out his eye. Pepper turns, huffing as she pulls out her phone. She's halfway out the door when Steve gets her attention again.

"Hey, Pepper?" Steve gives her a wicked grin. "Ask them if it's policy to use tasers on protesters".

All Pepper can hear as she steps into the elevator is the team's shouting as they beg for answers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second time it happens, Bruce and Clint are with him. They hadn't expected to run into a protest, but there they were, outside an abortion clinic, shielding protesters as rioters come after them with baseball bats and guns. Bruce takes a baseball bat to the face, and Steve can see that he's trying not to hulk out.

"Bruce!" Steve shouts, and Bruce runs over, seeing the two kids he's shielding. "There's kids here! Get them out of here!"

Bruce nods, pulling the kids along as he runs towards a boy and a girl who are getting beat up badly. Steve turns back to the main fight and gets knocked in the head with what feels like a shovel, dropping pretty quickly. He gets back up when a young lady walks out of the clinic and almost immediately gets attacked, throwing himself in front of her as somebody throws bleach at him.

"Stop killing your babies!" The guy cackles, relishing her discomfort. "You're going to hell, murderer!"

"Fuck off!" Steve shouts at the guy, but he made the mistake of opening his eyes, and suddenly he can't see, and his eyes are burning, and he's telling the lady to get back inside, to call the police, and somebody whacks him in the legs, and suddenly a gun goes off and he's dropping, half blind and clutching his stomach where the bullet went in.

"Run, you little whore!" The guy shouts, raising his gun. Steve forces himself to his feet, taking another bullet as the lady yanks open the doors and runs in. Somewhere off to his right, Bruce roars as the Hulk comes out, and Steve can see through whatever sliver of his eye was unaffected that Bruce is still shielding the kids, using his body as a blockade to buy them time. Clint is somewhere to his left, shouting that "you idiots are the ones killing innocents!" as he whacks a guy over the head with a bible. Steve is mostly focused on trying to get his bearings, but when he hears someone cry out in pain, he stumbles forward, blind but intent on helping whoever it is.

"Captain America, help!" the sound comes from his right, and his vision is coming back a little, so he can kind of see, but it's mostly a blurry mess, and then he feels someone cling to his arm, hiding behind him. He turns, and Jesus, this girl can't be more than 13, and she's shaking from what he can see.

"CLINT!" Steve shouts, pulling the girl closer to him as someone runs up with a shovel, swinging at her. "Jesus, fuck off! She's just a kid!"

"That is most definitely a child. What do you think you're doing with that shovel, assbag?" A familiar voice comes from behind Steve, and he resists the urge to turn around and tackle Tony in a hug as he continues sassing the idiot with the shovel. "Oh, don't give me that shocked look. You really think I'd support a douchebag like you? Go take a walk".

"Tony, I could kiss you." Steve laughs.

"Please don't, Pepper doesn't want to share".

"TONY SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP AND COME HELP ME!" Clint yells, and Steve cackles as he sees Tony pick up the girl he was shielding and fly over to where Clint is by the clinic doors.

"Have a present." Tony says, and Steve turns his attention away from his friends to get another girl out of the mess.

When they finally get back to the Tower, they're all messes, beat up and tired, but successful.

Steve has to spend two days recovering from the bullet wounds, though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the Winter Soldier incident, Steve and Sam start hanging out a lot, and once they start talking about protests, Pepper knows she's not ever going to be able to handle Steve ever again. Sam is more than willing to call cops out on their bullshit, and Steve loves that he's found someone who is willing to speak up about these issues with him. Sam ends up introducing Steve to a lot of new concepts, one of which is bisexuality. Steve likes that word a lot. It makes sense.

They end up at a Black Lives Matter protest, and Sam is chatting with some teenage girls who are absolutely awe-struck by the superheroes protesting with them. Steve is listening intently to a teenage boy who is explaining the movement and why it's important, asking questions when he feels overwhelmed or confused. Both men are watching the thousands of teenagers who are very respectfully gathered, waiting for something to go wrong.

"Maybe it won't be bad." Steve says, looking around and spotting a girl making flower crowns for her friends.

"There's always something, especially with issues like this." Sam looks around, nervous. "It gets worse with this movement, actually. They hate being called out, hearing that they should be punished for their actions".

Steve hears a siren whoop, and he grits his teeth. People have been dying because of the hate of others, and it's not right. He doesn't fully understand, and never fully will, but his friend deserves to be treated like a person, and people shouldn't be afraid just because they're darker than others. People shouldn't die just because they're darker than others.

The cop cars pull up, surrounding the protest area. Some of the teens start to get nervous, and Sam seems a little antsy, but Steve starts moving forward, expression set. This isn't his first time around, and he doubts it will be his last. Steve pushes through the crowd, standing in front of some of the younger protesters and looking at the police officers that pulled up. The officers are clearly pissed, and Steve catches Sam's "I told you so" look. Steve plasters on his biggest, fakest smile, and approaches the officer, who is now yelling "Cease and desist!" into a megaphone.

"Officer! Is there a problem?" Steve says, and Sam suddenly realizes what Pepper meant when she said he was going to get them in trouble.

The cop glances over Steve, staring in particular at his hands, then smiles a very fake smile.

"There was a noise complaint".

"I find that hard to believe, given how quiet and respectful these people are. We aren't bothering anyone".

"Step back, Captain, you ain't qualified to speak!" Someone shouts, and Steve nods, stepping back. He won't start problems for the protesters. Sam steps forward, filling the gap.

A cry from the other side of the protest area catches them both off guard. Smoke is rising from the other side, and people are pushing back towards their end. Steve catches a whiff of the smoke and instantly pales.

"That's tear gas." He mutters, then goes very red. "That's fucking tear gas! What the hell! These are civilians!"

Steve turns, and sees Sam with his hands raised, standing in front of a group of kids and trying to calm the police down.

"These are kids, man. You don't have to escalate this, just leave them alone. They're not bothering anybody".

Guns are raised, and someone is screaming "Fuck the cops!" and suddenly something goes off and people are screaming and flooding away from an area where a kid is holding the side of their head, and Steve rushes over, checking on the kid, making sure he's ok, and suddenly guns are going off, and people are screaming, running, and Steve feels himself get clipped with a bullet, one of the big rubber ones.

"Steve!" Sam calls, and Steve looks, but suddenly there's a canister near him and all he can think is _Grenade _, and he dives for it as it starts spewing gas. He chokes on the gas some, but once he figures out it's not deadly he runs to help Sam, who's blocking the police from hitting a couple kids. The officer swings his nightstick, catching Sam upside the head a couple times. Steve shields Sam, taking some hits to the back.__

__"You good?" He asks. Sam nods, wincing. "Damn, he got you good. Get them out of here"._ _

__Steve loses track of who he helps and when, but after some time, he sees an officer pointing a gun at a kid who's pinned down by a bad leg. Steve sprints over, grabbing the officer, his breath catching when he sees that that's a real gun, that gun could kill someone, and the officer is ignoring him, so he steps in front of the kid, and he feels the bullet puncture his lung, and when he coughs, he tastes blood._ _

__"You ok, kid?" Steve asks, prepared to take another bullet. The kid nods, then flinches as someone taps their shoulder. They look back at Steve, panicking when they see blood soaking through his shirt._ _

__"I'm good, get out of here." Steve says, suppressing another cough. The kid runs, and he turns towards the officer. "What the hell, man? You almost shot a kid"._ _

__"The rioter was... being... disruptive..." The guy cuts off when he sees who he's shot, paling as he sees Steve get steadily pissed._ _

__"You almost shot a kid based on the color of his skin." Steve says, glaring at the idiot. "You shouldn't have that badge"._ _

__"Steve!" Sam shouts again, and Steve looks over, sees Sam holding a kid who's bleeding from his leg. "They're using live ammo!"_ _

__"I know!" Steve shouts back, then decks the officer in the face and runs to help Sam. The kid is whimpering, saying something about how they got shot._ _

__"Christ, what has this country turned into? Shooting at children?" Steve mutters, ripping his shirt up for a makeshift bandage. "Sam, how do I do this?"_ _

__"Do you know any first aid?"_ _

__"You're the medic!"_ _

__"Fair. Lemme set him down and we can-"_ _

__"Actually, go help evacuate. You can patch people up at a safe location, it's too much of a mess out here"._ _

__"That's... a better idea." Sam nods, hoisting the kid on his back. "You gonna be ok?"_ _

__"I've been shot before." Steve shrugs before running to shield a group of girls from police in riot gear. They pull out more nightsticks, and Steve barks at them to stop, and one of the girls shouts for help, which gets her whacked upside the head. Steve decks the guy that did it, taking a few hits with the nightstick and bare hands._ _

__"Steve!" Sam calls, and he turns, and his friend is getting hit with nightsticks, and the girls have all gotten to safety, so he runs to help Sam, and they get out of there. Steve is coughing violently, blood bursting from his mouth, his eyes watering and burning from the gas, his face stinging from cuts given by the nightsticks. They get to a safe space, and Steve closes his eyes for a few seconds, panting heavily. He's bruised and sore, and it hurts to breathe, and Sam is telling him that they gotta go, but he just needs a second to catch his breath._ _

__"We gotta go man!" Sam says, and God, he looks bad. Swollen eye, busted lip, cuts and bruises everywhere. His hand is messed up, it looks like it was stepped on. He looks really bad, and all Steve can think is if that's what it's like today, then how far have they come, really?_ _

__"Just-Just a second." Steve pants, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. "I gotta-I gotta catch my-my breath"._ _

__Steve has his eyes closed, and when he opens them, he's in a hospital bed, listening to Tony shout into the phone.._ _

__"Well, that's not right." Steve says, wrinkling his nose._ _

__"What's not rig- You're up!" Tony stammers, and at that moment, Sam comes in, and while he looks better, Steve is still shocked by how messed up he looks._ _

__"I swear they were going after me." Sam says, picking at the bandage on his hand. "I swear they were"._ _

__"I wouldn't doubt it." Pepper said, glaring at her phone. "Those assholes are going to answer for this"._ _

__"There were babies at that protest. Like, 9, 10, 11. Little kids, real little." Sam shakes his head, chuckling wryly. "They launched tear gas into the crowd, you know that?"_ _

__"They fucking what!" Pepper shouts, nearly breaking her phone. "There were- They launched- They- DEAD!"_ _

__Steve groans as he tries to sit up, clutching at his side. Those bullets really messed him up, and he suspects he's only been out for a day or so, but he got all those wounds protecting protesters, and he's enhanced. What the hell is that doing to those protesters?_ _

__"God, you'd think they want those kids dead." Steve mutters, wincing as he tries to lay back down. His whole body hurts. "I'm fucking enhanced, and everything still hurts"._ _

__"Oh thank God, you're awake." Pepper sighs a breath of relief, but Sam just sits next to him, giving him the eyebrow._ _

__"I told you so." Sam says. "It's always bad"._ _

__"It's like they were trying to kill us"._ _

__"Wouldn't put it past them"._ _

__"Well, damn, I don't think I like the police anymore." Steve half jokes, smiling when Sam laughs and shakes his head. "I'm never gonna fully understand, but if that's what it's like for me one day, I can only imagine how it is for you"._ _

__"It's not too bad for me. New York is fairly progressive, and whatever assholes I've run into are normally not people I gotta work with. The protest is about people who aren't better off, and also holding police accountable for how they act. People can't just stand off to the side"._ _

__"Huh." Steve lays back down, noticing how Sam smiles at him. "Fuck the cops?"_ _

__"Naw, just get them to do their fucking jobs"._ _

__Steve smiles again, and he knows he's got a friend in Sam, no matter what._ _

__Steve ends up going to a lot more of those protests later on, and he always ends up in the hospital after, promising that next time, he'll pull out quicker._ _

__He never does._ _

__~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_ _

__When Bucky first comes back, Steve is a bit of a mess. He doesn't know how to help or what to do, and it's hard to talk to Bucky, because he's hiding more often than not._ _

__When Steve goes out on one of his morning runs, he runs into a protest on the steps of a church. People are shouting something about a girl who died, and Steve lets his curiosity get the better of him._ _

__"Excuse me?" Steve taps a young lady on the shoulder and watches her face go through an array of expressions as she turns around. "Hi. Can you tell me what's going on here?"_ _

__"Um, one of the priests at this church raped a bunch of nuns, and killed one of them. She was 19, and he raped and killed her, and one of the other priests called the cops on him, but they're trying to get him out, and he needs to be locked up forever"._ _

__"That is awful." Steve feels his chest tighten, and he decides to stay with them. "I hope he stays locked up. Mind if I join you?"_ _

__The protesters do not mind, as it turns out, and he eventually gathers that most of them go to the same church, the very one they're in front of, in fact. He tells them some tales about the nuns at his old church back in Brooklyn, telling them how most could swear like a sailor but you'd never suspect it, telling them how some nuns would smack you across the hands for speaking out of turn and how others would have adopted you if they could. It entertains them, and Steve almost makes a few friends. He leaves that protest satisfied, glad that no fights broke out._ _

__The next protest he runs into is a little different. Thousands of teenagers, yelling at the top of their lungs about gun restriction laws. Steve quickly gathers that 1, somebody shot up a school, 2, this is a fairly common occurrence, and 3, the kids are getting tired of adults sitting on their hands and not doing anything._ _

__"There's no criminal background checks, no mental health checks, basically nothing to keep crazy people from just walking up and buying one. And some of this shit is military grade, like AR-15s. And in some places, they have them in, like, Wal-mart's." A kid was telling him._ _

__"That is ridiculous." Steve gapes. "No background checks of any kind? None? That's fucking stupid"._ _

__"Whoa, Captain America said a naughty word!" Somebody shouts, and Steve good naturedly flips them off, which earns him a laugh._ _

__"But seriously, these are the gun laws? That's idiotic. Especially if kids are dying. Do they not care?"_ _

__"Nope. It's getting real annoying, and honestly, what if we're next? One of our classmates with access to a gun could kill us. We could all die, and the world would keep on turning"._ _

__"Huh." Steve frowns as he hears a siren whoop. "Aw, shit, the cops are here"._ _

__"Fuck them. They don't do shit. I'm Peter, by the way." The kid extends his hand, and Steve smiles. "My aunt brought me. I said I wanted to do this for my birthday, and she was like, 'ok'. But she's cool"._ _

__"It's your birthday? How old are you?"_ _

__"14." Peter says, and Steve blinks. "You thought I was older?"_ _

__"No, I- I don't know, I thought you were, like, twelve"._ _

__"Wow." Peter rolls his eyes. "Rude"._ _

__"I'm probably not the best judge of age, to be fair." Steve says, then hisses at the gas canister flying through the air. "Aw, shit, that's tear gas"._ _

__"What?" Peter says, looking up as the canister hits the ground next to them and explodes, sending gas everywhere. Steve's eyes start to water not long after that, and teenagers start freaking out left and right, gunshots ringing out in the chaos. Steve swears under his breath, catching Peter as he starts to panic._ _

__"Go find your aunt." Steve says, interrupting Peter's "but-" with a glare. "No. Go find your aunt, then get as many kids as you can and get out of here. Head towards Stark Tower, I'll make sure they let you in"._ _

__Steve pulls his phone out of his pocket, calling Tony as he heads for the front of the protest, stumbling a bit from blindness, hearing kids cry out in pain. He still can't believe they're getting shot at._ _

__"Yello?" Tony says, not paying attention._ _

__"Tony, there's a protest on 83rd just up the street from the Tower-"_ _

__"Yikes, again? How soon do you need me, I'm in a board meeting"._ _

__"Just open the doors. They opened fire on the crowd, I can't tell if it's live ammo or not"._ _

__Steve gets pinged in the head with a rubber bullet and sees stars for a second. He goes and shields a young girl who is crying for someone; she must have been separated from her group. He makes sure she's ok before approaching the first officer he sees, yelling loudly that he's not a threat, that the protesters are unarmed and they need to cease fire. He gets nailed in the chest with another rubber bullet._ _

__"Doors are open, Capslock. See you in a few." Tony says before hanging up on Steve. Steve rolls his eyes, then focuses on the police, who have another fallen protester at gunpoint._ _

__"Hey!" Steve says, stepping in front of the kid. "Leave them be, they're unarmed"._ _

__"How would you know?" The officer snarls, and Steve comes to the conclusion that this guy is the one who ordered for the police to open fire, and likely did so out of spite._ _

__"I would know because they're protesting gun violence. Back the fuck off." Steve growls, and suddenly there's a hand on his shoulder, a soft and familiar touch. He turns and sees Bucky, who grabs him by the hand and pulls him along. "I'm not finished!"_ _

__"You are now. You're gonna get shot." Bucky mutters, hair falling in his face. Steve is grateful that his friend came back for him, but is also worried what this environment is going to do to his mental state. "C'mon, punk. If I get shot it's your fault"._ _

__"You didn't have to come." Steve says, unsure if he's crying because of the tear gas or if it's his emotions. Probably both. "I know it's hard for you"._ _

__"Damn straight, punk. I do not want to be here, but you're gonna get shot and right now your safety is more important. Because you are a reckless idiot who probably has thrown himself in front of a gun multiple times already." Bucky turns and glares at Steve. "I miss you, and I want to be around you, but it's too much in my head, so be patient with me. I know you mope about it"._ _

__"I do not- I don't mope." Steve scrunches up his nose, annoyed._ _

__"You do to, Stark said you do. He says you're a whiny baby and I should just kiss you already, cuz it's awkward for him to watch us pine over each other, whatever that means"._ _

__Steve makes a mental note to both thank and slap Tony; for all the man's brashness, he is an excellent judge of character, and if he's telling Bucky to kiss Steve, he's most likely judged that that's because Bucky wants to._ _

__"Would you?" Steve asks, catching Bucky's 'I don't have enough information' face. "Kiss me, I mean"._ _

__"If you want me to." Bucky turns, glaring at him. They're really close to the Tower now, and Steve can see Bucky clearly. "I can't believe we're having this conversation right now"._ _

__"You're taking this awfully well"._ _

__"It's ninety percent an act. Internally I'm still freaking out over you almost getting shot and the fact that you don't seem to mind that I just admitted I want to kiss you"._ _

__"Well..."_ _

__Steve gets cut off as they slide into the Tower and come face to face with a lobby full of protesters, many of whom are wounded from rubber bullets. Steve becomes aware of the fact that his chest hurts where he was hit earlier, and as he tries to check the wound, sees Peter chatting up Tony. Tony waves at them, and Bucky and Steve walk over._ _

__"So, this is Peter. He is very smart, he's my new friend." Tony says, laughing at Peter's shy expression. "Aw, c'mon kid. You're amazing! I need you for when Bruce is out of town, I can't deal with all these small brains"._ _

__"I need to ask my aunt May..." Peter says, and Steve leaves to go find someone who can check his chest._ _

__He runs into Sam two seconds later. Sam gives him the standard glare, then motions for him to pull off his shirt. He does, and the bruise is smack over his heart, a blue and purple blossom on his skin._ _

__"Wow. That might even be pretty if you weren't so fucking dumb." Sam says, rolling his eyes at Steve. Steve wrinkles his nose at Sam, and smiles when that gets him a laugh. Steve also notices how Bucky's eyeing him, how he blushes when he thinks no one's looking, how pretty he looks with his hair falling in his face and fidgeting with the edges of his sweatshirt, how he bites his lip before he looks at Steve, the way he does before he's about to bite into something._ _

__"James Buchanan Barnes, if you wanna kiss me so bad, just get over here and do it." Steve says, loudly, without thinking. Bucky looks startled, then slowly makes his way over, getting very red in the face as he does so. He mutters something about 'I do wanna kiss you' before swooping down and planting one on him, then turning away, embarrassed. Steve feels his face go red, and he smiles at Bucky, pulling him close._ _

__"That was nice." Steve whispers, blushing fiercely. "I think I'd like another"._ _

__"What's the magic word?" Bucky teases, fiddling with Steve's hair and getting in Sam's way. Sam glares at Steve, who ignores him._ _

__"Please, Bucky? Can I have a kiss?" Steve asks, and Bucky gives him one, a good, strong one that makes his heart melt into nothing. Steve notices that Bucky tastes vaguely like apples, and for some reason, that makes him happy._ _

__"Wow." Bucky gasps as he breaks the kiss, breathless from drinking Steve down. "You- wow. I- Wow"._ _

__"You're gonna wear that word out, Buck"._ _

__"Wow." Bucky says again, this time to be contrary. Steve chuckles, hiding his face. "Aw, don't hide from me. I love it when you blush, your face gets all red and you can't speak right"._ _

__"Buuuuuuck." Steve whines, burying his head in his hands before looking back up. "God, I love you"._ _

__Bucky goes stock still for a minute, then scoops Steve into a hug. Steve hugs him back, and he realizes not for the first time how absolutely safe he feels when Bucky hugs him, how absolutely calm and secure he is. Bucky sobs into Steve's shoulder, emotion overcoming him, and he's shaking as he falls into Steve's arms._ _

__"I love you so much. I love you I love you I love you." Bucky whimpers, and Steve starts crying as well, because how long had he waited to hear those words? "I- I wanna be yours, Stevie. Please, let me be yours"._ _

__"Ok." Steve whispers, and when Bucky pulls back in shock, he smiles wryly. "Yes. Absolutely, you can be mine. Please, be mine. I love you, Buck, I don't want to lose you ever again"._ _

__Bucky nods, then kisses Steve again, which gets them whoops and cheers from the teenagers in the room. Bucky hides his crimson face, and Steve blushes shyly, but they're both happier than they've ever been before._ _

__Bucky joins Steve at his next protest._ _

__~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_ _

__"What the shit is a pride, Parker?" Bucky asks, whacking Steve's butt with a newspaper as Steve tries to sneak a chocolate covered strawberry. "Those are not for you!"_ _

__"Ow." Steve say, purely to be contrary. Bucky rolls his eyes, annoyed. It's been about two years since they started dating, and they are not only comfortable with each other, but Bucky's been getting better, a lot better, and he no longer hides from anyone._ _

__"Pride is an annual event. There's a parade, and the entire month of June is pride month. It's an event staged by the LGBTQ+ community." Peter snatches a strawberry and pops it in his mouth despite Bucky's protests. "My friend, Michelle, is bisexual, so she goes every year, and I'm gonna go take pictures of her to submit to Humans of New York! I really wanna get a job with them!"_ _

__"Huh. So, how does that work?" Bucky asks, swatting Steve again as he snatches a strawberry. "I just said-"_ _

__"Its when you can be attracted to both boys and girls. I don't know exactly how it works, but I support her!"_ _

__"I meant the Humans of New York thing, but ok"._ _

__"Oh"._ _

__"But, like, seriously, aren't they an Instagram account? How does that work?"_ _

__"Yeah, they're an Instagram account, but they also have multiple photographers. I wanna be one"._ _

__"Cool. So, about this pride thing..."_ _

__"You can come if you want. You have a boyfriend so you definitely aren't straight, and you could probably use the exposure"._ _

__"Ok." Bucky said, laughing nervously. "I just don't want to walk into this blind"._ _

__Three days later, they're at the parade, Bucky nervously tucking his hair behind his ear as Steve paints a rainbow onto his face, with Peter painting a series of blue, pink, and purple stripes onto Steve. Michelle, Peter's friend, stands nearby with a flag the same color as Steve' stripes, glitter streaking out from above her eyes. Bucky smiles as Steve finishes up, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead._ _

__"I love you, sugarcake." Steve says, and Bucky blushes, because Steve's stupid pet names always make him blush. "You're so pretty, babydoll"._ _

__"Let's gooooo." Michelle drones, faking irritation, but smiling at the two of them. Peter takes a few pictures of them, asking if he can use them for submissions. Steve agrees, and suddenly they're marching, talking to people and laughing at dumb jokes. A few people on the sidelines do double takes when they see they two men, both out of the pages of a history book, but they don't care. They walk and walk and walk, and a few times they see people with flower arches on the side and Bucky drags Steve over to kiss in them, holding his hand as he draws Steve close to his chest, drinking in his scent._ _

__They start to pass an actual gazebo in the middle of the road, but Bucky yanks Steve in, and even though Steve rolls his eyes and calls Bucky a sap, he leans in for a kiss. Bucky, however, pulls away, fidgeting, and Steve starts to get nervous._ _

__"Buck? What's wrong?" He asks, and Bucky looks up at him, and when those gorgeous blue eyes fix on him, he knows that something important is coming._ _

__"I've been trying all day to find the perfect moment to ask you this, but every time I got you away, it didn't feel right. But I want to do this here, so I guess I'm doing it here." Bucky kneels, and Steve watches as Bucky pulls a box out of his pocket, smiles wanly, starts to cry a little. "I have loved you since I was 17, and I think I always will. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you chose me, that you wanted me, that you went after me. You've given me so much, and now I'm asking for a little bit more"._ _

__Bucky pops the box open, and a gorgeous silver ring makes its presence known. Steve feels his breath catch, his chest tighten, and his eyes begin to water as he feels a smile break out on his face. Bucky smiles at him, and Steve knows what his answer will be even before Bucky asks._ _

__"Steven Grant Rogers, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"_ _

__"Yes." Steve gasps, and then again, quicker, more controlled. "Yes, yes, I- God, Buck, I- Yes!"_ _

__Bucky stands and slides the ring on his hand, and Steve throws his arms around Bucky and cries and kisses his cheeks. He can vaguely hear Peter yelling at them to hurry up, but Steve doesn't care. This is the happiest he's been in a long time, and he can't believe that he has this, he actually has a new life, a new home, a new family, and a loving boyfriend- no, fiancé. His fiancé, Bucky is his-_ _

__"I love you so fucking much." Steve whispers, clutching Bucky tighter. "I get to have you for ever and ever now"._ _

__"Yep, you're stuck with me." Bucky says, and Steve gives a dry laugh, like Bucky knew he would._ _

__"Guys, will you- OHMYGODISTHATARING?" Peter says, choking on the question as he pulls out his phone and snaps a picture. "Michelle! Look at this!"_ _

__They spend the rest of that day blissfully existing in a world of color and glitter, and when they go home that night, they snuggle against each other, warm bodies and tired eyes._ _

__"Good night." Steve says, holding his fiancé as the day ends. Tomorrow is a new adventure, and who knows what will happen?_ _


End file.
